BOOK EXCERPT: CHILDREN OF DREAMS: Chapter 8: “Ask the Animals, and They Will Teach You”

...ask the animals, and they will teach you

Job 12:7

(Excerpt from Children of Dreams, Chapter 8)

My mind flashed back to when I was young.

I was awakened by a big white dog licking me in my face and jumping all over my bed. As I tried to open my eyes from what I thought was a dream, my mother said, “This is Gypsy. We are going to keep her.”

Gypsy was the friend I longed for but didn’t have. When I came home from school, she would greet me at the door with her tail wagging. I walked her, fed her, and played with her. After we returned from each walk, I would announce how many times she had used the bathroom, both number one and number two, as if to validate I was the best dog walker in the world. I even cleaned up after her when she threw up so nobody would know.

Gypsy was a stray. The night before she jumped on me in bed she had snuck into the house with my dad. She was God’s gift to me. We were inseparable.

One afternoon I arrived home from school and knew something was wrong. She didn't greet me at the door like she usually did and I ran through the house frantically looking for her.  

“She's gone,” my mother and father told me. “She won’t be back. The manager of the apartment came and took her away.”

“Where did they take her?”  I cried.

“The manager said they would dump her off on the road somewhere far from here. You know the apartment complex doesn’t allow dogs.”

I ran out of the room and up the stairs to my bedroom. My mind was flooded with memories of the most important thing in my little world. My heart was broken, confused, and hurting. Gypsy was gone.

That night bolts of thunder crashed outside my bedroom. Lightning pierced through the window shades. I imagined Gypsy in the darkness. I could feel her white warm fur against my skin and see her dark, brown eyes pleading for me to come to get her. I cried into my pillow as peels of thunder bounced off the walls. If Gypsy ever found her way back, I vowed to run away with her. I would never let anybody take her from me again.

But the next day came and went and she didn’t return. I went to school each day hoping for the impossible, that somehow she could find her way back from wherever they dumped her.

It was Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. We were packing things up to go visit my new father’s family in North Carolina. My mother had recently remarried. I kept looking up the hill in front of the apartment, imagining that she would come running down the street any minute. I knew it would be impossible, but still, I hoped. I made one last trip to my bedroom. The car was loaded and we were ready to leave. I picked up my pillow and thought of the first morning she licked me on the face in bed.

“Please, Gypsy, come back to me. You need a home and someone to love you. I need you.”

I walked out the door of our apartment to get into the car. I glanced one last time up the hill. Out of nowhere, suddenly, there was something white. Was it, could it be—I dropped my pillow and started running up the hill. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, my mind racing to think what seemed like the impossible. It couldn’t be—but it was.

Gypsy ran frantically toward me, tattered, dirty, and exhausted. Somehow she had miraculously found her way home through the raging storm. After being lost for days in the cold November nights, miles from our home, Gypsy had done the impossible. She had found her way back to me.

“Gypsy!” I cried. I crouched down to grab her as she jumped into my arms, holding her tightly around the neck, crying and rejoicing all at the same time. My dog was lost, but now she was found.

“I will never let go of you,” I promised. She squealed with delight and licked my face. For the first time in my young life, I knew there had to be a God.

📘📘📘📘📘

The picture above is one of only three pictures I have of my beloved dog. She died of kidney failure when I was fifteen, and as we were burying her, another huge storm came up, with thunder and lightning, completely out of nowhere. It was a beautiful day. We had to rush to get her buried. 

I truly believe there was something supernatural about Gypsy. God gave her to me to show me God existed and loved me. I promised Gypsy that someday everybody would know who she was, that I would tell the world about her. 

I didn't have any idea how that would happen when I was fifteen, in the dinosaur age before the internet and all the other technology that exists today, but I didn’t doubt that I would. It was a promise I made to her, and I’m thankful that I kept my promise. It was as if I made that promise to God. Dog is God spelled backward, and God revealed Himself to me in a dog that loved me, and for that, I will always be thankful. 

Children of Dreams can be downloaded for free here

WILL GOD ALLOW OTHERS TO TAKE AWAY OUR DREAMS? Excerpt from "Children of Dreams" by Lorilyn Roberts

Excerpt from Children of Dreams by Lorilyn Roberts

…the children of the promise

Romans 9:8

“I took away her dreams,” my husband told the judge on September 4, 1986. Humanly speaking, he might have thought so. In John 8:44, Satan is described as the “Father of lies.” Satan’s desire was to destroy me, to make me doubt God’s love and goodness. In my pain, I believed a lie, much like the children believed Aslan was dead in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

But there is a higher law, a law that governs the universe, that supersedes every human sin and evil that attempts to corrupt God’s perfection. Our heavenly Father, who is full of grace and mercy, works out His purposes despite the evil one that lurks in the shadows. No human being has the power to thwart God’s ultimate plan. He works in spite of the prince of this world and uses everything for His glory. Nothing is ever wasted, whether it is disease, affliction, corruption, greed, lies, or betrayal. Jesus is our ultimate example of being perfect and commanded us in Matthew 5:48 to “Be perfect, even as your heavenly Father in heaven is perfect.”

God’s incredible love for us is even more astounding when one considers He was under no obligation to adopt us. He could have treated us as angels, making us spiritually alive through regeneration, and justifying us under the law through His death and resurrection. (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Mich, 1994, 738-739) But to adopt us and call us His children, to call Himself our Father, displays an intimacy in our relationship that defies, in my limited understanding, all logic. Why would the Creator of the universe want to be our Father? Even Albert Einstein, for all his genius, could not understand God as a personal God. (Hugh Ross, Ph.D., The Creator and the Cosmos, Colorado Springs, Col: Navpress, 2001, 75.)

Just as I signed a contract and made a down payment to adopt my children before I left for Nepal and Vietnam, God has given us “His Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:22).

On July 26, 2000, we made a memorable trip to the Alachua County Courthouse to finalize Joy’s adoption. A few years earlier, I had taken Manisha to the same place to finalize hers. Both of my children’s adoption decrees are now sealed and kept safe, just as my adoption paper is sealed in heaven, waiting for Jesus to open and reveal my inheritance.

I renamed my children Hope and Joy, and God promises to give us a new name, “known only to him who receives it” (Rev 2:17). The adoption of my children represents a foreshadowing of what God has in store for all of us.

Much of the meaning of being a child of God has yet to be revealed because it’s in the future. It is hard to comprehend the King giving me heavenly possessions that will never break, become outdated, cost too much, get lost, or that I don’t have to return because they are defective. In my limited understanding, I have tried to imagine a world where there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4); where the dwelling of God will be among us and He will wipe away every tear (Rev 21:4); where every kind of precious stone forms the foundation of the heavenly city which is paved in gold (Rev 21:19).

How can we envision perfection when all we have known is imperfection? God longs to be our Father, to share His inheritance with us, just as I longed to be an orphan’s mother. God planned us to be part of His family from the foundations of the world. He made us for His glory and “set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc 3:11). He will give us new bodies that will never grow old or die, but will be raised imperishable (I Cor 15:42).

I am sure if I told my children, “You can go back to Vietnam or Nepal and live your former way of life before I adopted you,” they would turn it down. Why would they want to go back to depravity and worms and hunger? In our heavenly home, the old order of things will have passed away (Rev 21:4) and the former things will not be remembered (Isaiah 65:17).

Before I adopted my two beautiful daughters, it was hard to imagine what it would like to be a mother. I dreamed about little girls and birthday parties, Christmas trees and toys, bear hugs and butterfly kisses, and my name transformed into the magical word “Mommy.” Through prayer and God’s faithfulness, what seemed impossible became real. And so it will be someday with us and our heavenly Father.

 

 

Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” God knows how we are formed and remembers we are dust (Psalm 103:14). Jesus said when we pray, to call God “Our Father.” The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). God compares Himself to a father having compassion on his children. (Psalms 103:13). Our heavenly Father loved us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son (John 3:16), and He has made us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Even creation itself will be liberated when we are brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:21). Through adoption, God gave me my “Children of Dreams” and quenched the desires of my heart (Psalms 37:4). With God, our heavenly Father, before the foundations of the world, He made us His “Children of Promise.” (Romans 9:8 and Galatians 4:28)

Revelation 5: 9-10

Here is the new song they sang.

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and break open its seals.

 

 

 

You are worthy because you were put to death.

With your blood you bought people for God.

They come from every tribe, language, people and nation.

10 You have made them members of a royal family.

You have made them priests to serve our God.

They will rule on the earth.”

 

 

___________

 

 

To Order, Click Here

 

 

Lorilyn's two daughters on Broadway with movie star Zachary Levi, "First Date"

 

Lorilyn Roberts is a Christian author who writes children's picture books, adult nonfiction, memoirs, and a young adult Christian fantasy series, Seventh Dimension.

Lorilyn graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Alabama, which included international study in Israel and England. She received her Masters in Creative Writing from Perelandra College and is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature.

Lorilyn is the founder of the John 316 Marketing Network, a network of Christian authors who are passionate about promoting books with a Christian worldview.

To learn more about Lorilyn, please visit her website at http://lorilynroberts.com. You can follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/lorilynroberts

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “Mission Possible,” even on Valentine's Day, a Spiritual Covering, by Deborah L. McCarragher

Mission Possible Spiritual Covering (Paperback and Kindle)

by Deborah L. McCarragher

Valentine’s Day is a day for celebrating all kinds of love –and especially for husbands and wives. Mission Possible is a wonderful read for any Christian woman who loves her husband, especially for a wife who is determined to pray her husband into the kingdom.

Prayer makes all the difference in our relationship with God. I prayed my mother into the kingdom—at least I felt like it gave me the assurance of her salvation. It took many years, but today she is a walking example of steadfastness in prayer.

While I didn’t pray my ex-husband into the kingdom, I take comfort in the fact that I did pray anyway—and even hid a prayer letter in a book that my ex took with him following our divorce. The outcome is always in God’s hands. As long as my ex-husband is living, there is hope he will be saved. May all married women find comfort in this delightful Valentine’s read that will help them to keep on keeping on—don’t give up.  Eternity is forever.

  

Review by Lorilyn Roberts

The Value of the Praying Wife for the Unsaved Husband

Mission Possible is a well-written book that should encourage and instruct any wife who yearns for a Godly husband--who loves him enough to pray for his eternal salvation even when she doesn't see any fruit in the present. Ms. McCarragher's insights into how to be a Godly wife and "helpmeet" are supported with Scriptural references that give profound wisdom to help anyone struggling in this area.

Even though I am not married, I found much Godly wisdom as a single woman to apply in my walk with God, knowing these kernels of truth have application not just in marriage but in all relationships--including children and friends. We never know how God is working to bring about a miracle in all the lives we touch. This book is a must-read for anyone who is committed to prayer, steadfastness, and faith for a Godly marriage and home.

Valentine’s Day is all about showing love to your spouse, parents, children, and those you care about the most.  As a Christian woman, there is only one way to love your husband… with the love of Christ.  This Valentine’s Day give your Heavenly Father a gift that will keep on giving – namely – the decision to love your husband as God intended while you are living in a spiritually mismatched marriage.

********

Introduction to Mission Possible

Women, are you in an unequally-yoked marriage?  Are you tired of attending church alone? Do you yearn for a relationship with your husband that’s spiritually satisfying?  You can influence your home for Christ even within a spiritually mismatched marriage.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to stand in the gap for your mate’s soul. This small book is a powerful tool for any woman who is married to a man who does not share her passion for Jesus. It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together.

Mission Possible was awarded the Readers Favorite 2010 Gold Seal Best Christian Non-Fiction book.

In Mission Possible you will:

-- Discover how to believe with radical faith for your spouse’s salvation.

-- Learn the secret to “staying the course” while you wait for your promise.

-- Find out why many women don’t like to share their “secret sorrow”.

-- Overcome your own fears and doubts about your husband’s future with God.

-- Join other women in the knowledge that God has a perfect plan of unity for you and your spouse.

“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy…For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband whether you will save your wife?”   (I Corinthians 7:14,16  NKJ)

Deborah McCarragher began her journey of creative writing soon after coming to know Jesus as her personal Savior in 1989. She enjoys using her spiritual gifts of encouragement and teaching.  Deborah served on the board of a local intercessory prayer ministry, and has been active in her home church and various women’s bible studies for years.  Her primary goal is to share her personal testimony with others while bringing hope and practical help through her book.

Deborah has been a small business owner for over 25 years and formed Alabaster Box Publishing several years ago as a vehicle for producing and promoting her Christian writing projects.  She is a devotional contributor to the E-zines "Ruby for Women” and “Living Better at 50+” as well as for the print magazine "An Encouraging Word".  She and her husband have one married son serving in the U.S. military. They reside in northeast Florida.

Links to Purchase:

Deborah’s Website

http://www.alabasterboxpublishing.com/shopOnline.html

Amazon   http://amzn.to/Missionpossible 

Smashwords

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19642

Deborah’s Blog:

http://www.Godmissionpossible.blogspot.com

Book Trailer Link:

http://youtu.be/WKNTyCmMIIQ

Social Media Links:

https://www.facebook.com/GodMissionPossible

http://www.Twitter.com/unequalmarriage

http://www.Pinterest.com/debitsdeb

SINGLE PARENTING WHEN GOD SPEAKS - SIXTEEN NUGGETS OF INSPIRATION: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

Recently a friend shared with me her daughter was in the processing of adopting two children. The little girls had been abused in their family of origin and the legal case was slowly making its way through the court system. As I reread her email, I prayed that God would answer every prayer my friend’s daughter sent up, just as He had answered mine.

Then the thought occurred to me: What would I say to a young mother-to-be whom God has called to “walk in my shoes”? I know each person’s situation is a little different, but similar in that a woman feels God is leading her to single parent an orphan, an abused child, or a child who might never feel loved. What wisdom would I impart after having been at this noble but difficult task for sixteen years?

I pulled out my keyboard and a plethora of thoughts gushed forth. May my words encourage you if you are chosen by God to save an orphan—whether you are married or unmarried, but particularly if you are single. With God, all impossible things are possible. Without Him, we walk alone.

1. Single parenting is the hardest thing you will ever do, but the most wonderful thing you will ever do.

2. I would never recommend a single woman adopt. It's too hard. I would never recommend a single woman not adopt. The blessings are too great. I would let God tell you what He wants you to do. If God calls you to adopt, never back down, give up, despair, or listen to those who tell you differently. If God is in it, there is nothing that will prevent you from being a mother to a child. God has a plan and a purpose. He does things His way, not ours. Trust in God. He will direct you.

3. You will never know what tired is until you have single-parented two kids on your own (or even one).

4. God is your husband, and the perfect husband.

5. You will come to understand how much God loves you by adopting a child who has no future and no hope, for that is how we are without Jesus.

6. You will share the heart of God; His hands, His hope, and His "all" with your children. They will know God through your sacrificial love.

7. You will love more than you ever thought you could; and you will fail miserably. But your children won't mind. In fact, they will love you anyway. Acknowledge your mistakes and move on. God can be glorified in your shortcomings. He loves your children more than you do.

8. God will not abandon you. He will meet every need you have more abundantly than you could ever imagine.

9. The day you sign the adoption papers will be the best day of your life. God has given you a great gift—a chance to share His love with an orphan. That is the essence of our faith.

10. “Mommy” is the most beautiful word in the English language.

11. Enjoy every moment of the journey. Your children will grow up too fast—in the blink of an eye. The years will wiz by, and you will wonder, where did the time go?

12. Make the most of every opportunity to love, teach, laugh, cry, and even be silly. Be a mother to the fullest. Give it your all. Go to bed exhausted. It's the best kind of tiredness you will ever feel.

13. Have a latte every once and a while, and read your Bible whenever you can.

14. Pray hard. God is always with you. Know this is your calling and your life's work. Your children are precious gifts from the Hands of the Creator. They are beautifully designed in His image with a future and a hope because of your love freely given in His name.

15. Love your children unconditionally. Be flexible. Learn to say "I'm sorry." It does wonders to restore the hurting soul.

16. Enjoy the journey and have a blast. There is nothing else like it short of heaven!